Out of all the Premier League teams, Leicester can probably feel the most unlucky from the opening day fixtures. They played excellently against an Arsenal side that were fancied to hammer them. Brighton, on the other hand, weren’t disgraced in defeat against Manchester City. They weren’t expected to get a result, but they performed well for two thirds of the game before the opposition’s superior quality shone through.
The Seagulls will look at The Foxes rise through the ranks in the Premier League as a blueprint of what they can possibly achieve. Of course, Chris Hughton’s side would be doing outrageously well if they can even get close to what Leicester did, but nonetheless, stranger things have happened in the world of sport.
Leicester’s form
The Foxes opened their 2017/18 season with a courageous performance against Arsenal. They were excellent going forward, but their defensive play left a lot to be desired. Craig Shakespeare will be delighted to see Jamie Vardy start his season with two goals, but he will be worried that his side leaked four sloppy goals.
Leicester’s 2016/17 season was divided into two parts – the Ranieri portion and the post-Ranieri portion. They were excellent for the latter, but atrocious for the latter. Which one is the real Leicester City? Only time will tell, but if the opening game is anything to go by, this could be a good yeatr for the side.
Brighton form
Brighton’s performance against Manchester City was exactly what you would expect from them; a spirited performance for around an hour, then a predictable fade-away. They are a good side and should be competitive this season, but they shouldn’t be judged by how they do against Manchester City.
They will have penciled this fixture as an opportunity to get off the board and gain some points. They have plenty of great players in their midst and will have looked upon Huddersfield and their excellent win over Crystal Palace as inspiration for this match.
News
Craig Shakespeare took over Leicester City under a shroud of controversy. Not all of that controversy has disappeared just yet. Many fans still think it was wrong to sack Ranieri and that their new manager stabbed him in the back. These doubts won’t have been helped by the fact that Shakespeare took off a midfielder and put on a striker when a goal up against Arsenal. The Foxes then proceeded to concede twice and lost the game 4-3. He is a manager who is being tested – will he pass? Who knows.
Betting tips
Leicester were great in portions against Arsenal. They now have the experience and know-how without the expectation which plagued their season last year. That’s why we have chosen them to grind out a hard-fought win here against Brighton. They are priced at 7/10 to win this game with Ladbrokes. Considering these two sides fortunes over the past few years, that seems like a good value bet to us.
Another wager we plan on having is for Jamie Vardy to score first. The England international got two against Arsenal and is no stranger to scoring in successive matches. This is priced at 7/2 with BetVictor.